Glossary / Lexicon

Deutsch: Kognitive Dissonanz / Español: Disonancia Cognitiva / Português: Dissonância Cognitiva / Français: Dissonance Cognitive / Italiano: Disonanza Cognitiva

The theory of Cognitive Dissonance, pioneered by Leon Festinger, is one of the most influential concepts in social psychology. It explains the inherent human motivation to resolve powerful internal inconsistencies between one's beliefs, attitudes, and actions.

General Description

Cognitive Disonance is a foundational concept in social psychology, referring to the aversive state of psychological tension or discomfort that arises when an individual is simultaneously aware of two or more inconsistent cognitions. A cognition includes any thought, belief, attitude, value, or knowledge about one's own behavior.

The Cognitive Dissonance Theory, introduced by Leon Festinger in 1957, posits that humans are biologically driven to maintain cognitive consistency. Because this clash of incompatible beliefs or the conflict between an action and a positive self-conception is unpleasant, people are strongly motivated to reduce this psychological tension to restore balance.

Dissonance commonly occurs in two primary scenarios:

1. Attitude-Discrepant Behavior: When one acts contrary to their customary attitudes or beliefs with little external justification (e.g., a person who values health smokes a cigarette).

2. Post-Decisional Dissonance: The tension that arises after making a difficult choice, particularly when the rejected alternative had attractive features.

Dissonance Reduction Strategies

Since the feeling of dissonance is a powerful drive state, individuals instinctively employ various strategies to resolve the inconsistency. The goal is to change one or more of the conflicting cognitions to make them consistent with the others.

• Changing the Attitude: The individual directly alters the belief to align with the action already taken. Example: A person who believes smoking is dangerous but continues to smoke might start to believe that the health risks are exaggerated.

• Adding Consonant Cognitions: Generating or seeking out new justifications that support the action taken. Example: An expensive purchase is justified by focusing only on its few excellent features to outweigh the financial cost.

• Minimizing the Importance: The person reduces the perceived significance of the conflicting belief or action. Example: Someone who acts unethically rationalizes that "it's not a big deal" or "everyone else does it."

• Effort Justification: Overvaluing a goal or outcome for which one expended significant effort or suffered for. Example: After enduring a difficult and costly training program, a person rates the eventual outcome as much more valuable than it objectively is.

Related Psychological Concepts

• Cognitive Consistency: The desired state that is achieved after dissonance is successfully reduced; the harmonious relationship between one's cognitions.

• Self-Perception Theory (Bem): A competing theory suggesting that people sometimes infer their attitudes by simply observing their own behavior ("I did it, so I must believe in it"), rather than by reducing internal tension.

• Selective Exposure: The tendency to actively seek out information that supports existing beliefs and avoid information that might create or increase dissonance.

• Rationalization: The general psychological process of inventing plausible, but often false, reasons for one's beliefs or actions.

Summary

Cognitive Dissonance is an aversive psychological state created by the awareness of conflicting thoughts or behaviors. This uncomfortable tension motivates individuals to restore cognitive consistency. This is primarily achieved by either changing the conflicting attitude, adding new justifying beliefs, or minimizing the importance of the conflict. The theory is crucial in explaining why people often revise their beliefs to justify their past actions, making it a powerful driver of attitude change and decision-making validation.

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